NEW LIGHT ON ANCIENT UR
THOUGH KINGDOMS RISE AND FALL, THESE KURDISH FERRYMEN CARRY ON
In Iraq these proud, ancient people live
Kirkuk, but parts of their old territory now
Sumerians and figure in their oldest records.
chiefly east of the Tigris, in Mosul, Erbil, and
belong to Turkey and Persia. They fought the
This ferry plies the Great Zab River.
AL FALLUJA IS SITUATED ON THE SO-CALLED "BOTTLENECK" OF MESOPOTAMIA
The Euphrates and the Tigris flow close to each other at this point, then diverge (see
map, page ioi). Over Al Falluja's bridge of boats most of the cars and caravans coming
from Syria cross the Euphrates. In the desert near this town, 50 miles west of Baghdad, is a
landing field for the Cairo-Baghdad Air Mail. Near by is the battle field of Cunaxa, where
the defeat of Cyrus the Younger led to the immortal "Retreat of the Ten Thousand" under
Xenophon.
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